It is one of the many hidden treasures around the world. This ghost metro station, perfectly intact, lures the visitors to a travel back in time, in the Madrid of the early 1900.
The GHOST METRO STATION in MADRID makes you feel like travelling back in time
# The first underground line
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Chamberì station. Designed by the architect Antonio Palacios, Madrid’s first underground line, covering a distance of roughly four kilometers from Cuarto Caminos to Puerta del Sol, was opened in 1919. This historical place, hidden beneath Plaza Chamberì, next to via Santa Engracia, still retains all of its former grandeur.
# A curved station
The station was closed on 22 May, 1966 for the same reason as that of New York’s first metro station. Over the years, new technologies resulted in the construction of longer cars. This meant the end for Chamberí. Because it was built on a curve, lengthening of the station’s platform from 60 to 90 metres proved both pointless and basically impossible.
During the turbulent, bloody years of the Spanish civil war in 1936, Chamberi provided shelter from the bombings and artillery assaults to numerous Madrilenian citizens.
# A ghostly apparition
Since then, although the rails and overhead electric lines remained inactive they continued to be maintained, while the rest of the building was abandoned, and fell into ruins. For this reason, it is now known as the “ghost station”. Passengers on trains passing through Chamberi station are treated to a mystifying flash, a sort of glowing apparition.
# Frozen in time
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Though the appearance of the station has remained unaltered, frozen in time, it has continued to retain all of its original splendour. After passing through its turnstiles, visitors will be captivated by its beautifully tiled corridors leading to the platforms, where it is still possible to admire the old ticket office, beautiful skylights, arches and the billboards of that era.
Fortunately, in 2006, a committee tasked with the transformation the “Estaciόn de Chamberì” initiated the “Andén 0” project. After receiving the necessary authorization, the station was restructured and transformed into a ‘Metro Museum’ in 2008. Since then, Chamberì has come back to life and is still accompanying visitors on a trip back in time.
MATTIA LANDRO
(Original article by Selene Mangiarotti)
